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≡ Learn about the Philippines’ National Symbols

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Symbols represent a wide variety of things. When people see a particular symbol, they associate it with
ABOUT US
something
CONTACT US meaningful or standard. With this, each country has their own national symbols to identify
themselves
JAPANESE from others and to unite its citizens through nationalism.

According to National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), of cial national symbols of the
 
Philippines represent the country’s traditions and ideals and convey the principles of Philippine

sovereignty
 and national solidarity.


Check out these of cial national symbols of the Philippines:

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The Philippines national ag, as de ned by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, is made
of silk, had a white equilateral triangle at the left containing a sunburst of eight rays at the center, a ve-
pointed star at each angle of the triangle, an upper stripe of blue and a lower stripe of red. The sun stands
for liberty; the sunburst of eight rays for the rst eight provinces to take up arms against Spain; and the
three stars for the three island groups of the Philippines – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The white
triangle signi es Filipino hope for equality; the upper blue stripe stands for peace, truth and justice; while
the lower red stripe stands for patriotism and valor.

National Anthem: “Lupang Hinirang”

The Philippine national anthem is entitled “Lupang Hinirang” and composed by  Julian Felipe. “Lupang
Hinirang” was rst played publicly on June 12, 1898 during the proclamation of Philippine Independence.
Its lyrics were adopted from the Spanish poem, Filipinas, which was written by José Palma.

National Flower: Sampaguita

The Philippine national ower is called “sampaguita” which is generally known as the Arabian Jasmine. Its
white color symbolizes purity, simplicity, humility and strength.

National Tree: Narra

The Philippine national tree is called “narra” generally known as rosewood. It was made of cial by Gov.
Gen. Frank Murphy through Proclamation No. 652 s. 1934. In fact, under the DENR Memorandum Order
dated February 5, 2013, cutting of Narra needs to be approved by the DENR Central Of ce, particularly by
the Of ce of the Undersecretary for eld Operations.

National Bird: Philippine Eagle

The Philippine national bird is called “Philippine eagle”  scienti cally known as Pithecophaga jefferyi. It was
made of cial in 1978 by former President Ferdinand Marcos through Proclamation No. 1732.

National Gem: Philippine Pearl

The Philippine national gem is called “Philippine Pearl” as declared by Former President Fidel V. Ramos
through Proclamation No. 905 s. 1996. It is scienti cally known as Pinctada Maxima. In fact, world’s
largest pearl was discovered by a Filipino diver in a giant Tridacna (mollusk) under the Palawan Sea in
1934.

National Sport: Arnis

Arnis is to the Philippines like Japan’s Karate and Korea’s Taekwondo. It’s both a martial art and a sport
whose origins are still largely uncon rmed because of lack of documentation. It’s known by two other
names: Kali and Eskrima, and makes use of both bladed weapons, batons/sticks, and bare hands. It became
a national symbol in 2009 when then-Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9850 into law.

Now, you may be wondering: where (or when) in this list will the name Dr. Jose Rizal appear? What about
things like anahaw and mangoes? Sadly, these cannot be included in the list above as they are listed by the
NCCA as national symbols because there is no law that has been signed declaring them as such.

What follows here is the list of our country’s unof cial national symbols:

Dr. Jose Rizal: National Hero

Long recognized in the country’s history books as our National Hero, Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y
Alonzo Realonda’s status as our national hero has not been the subject of debate for the common Juan.
Scholars, however, still argue about who should be given the title: Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio
Aguinaldo, Apolinario Mabini, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat, Juan Luna, Melchora Aquino,
and Gabriela Silang were listed down by former President Fidel V. Ramos as those worthy of being given
the title of National Hero. This list has not been acted on since being submitted by the National Heroes
Committee on November 22, 1995.

Anahaw: National leaf

Often referred to as the National Leaf, the anahaw or round-leaf fountain palm is not part of the country’s
national symbols. Normally seen in the countryside as a roo ng material,  anahaw  leaves are seen as
decorative pieces/plants in the metro.

Mango: National fruit

A common sight in Philippine wet and dry markets, the mango has long been seen as the National fruit. As
popular as it is for making desserts, there is no law that proclaims it as a national symbol.

Carabao: National animal

If common men have dogs as their best friend, then the carabao or Philippine water buffalo is the Filipino
farmer’s best friend. They’re beasts of burden, able to do almost everything that needs to be done on the
rice elds, including carry the farmer and his goods. But, without any laws to recognized them, they’ll
remain an unof cial symbol of the country.

Bahay Kubo: National house

The humble bahay kubo or nipa hut is still seen in some parts of the country, particularly in the provinces.
While it has long been a symbol of Filipino homes, it has not been recognized as a national symbol.

Bangus: National sh
Bony, yet prized for its belly fat, which almost everyone ghts for on the dinner table. The  bangus or
milk sh has long been seen as the country’s national sh, yet without a law, it’s status will never be of cial.

Other things have been cited over time as a national symbol, yet have never been recognized.

The battle has raged on between which should be recognized as the National Dance: Tinikling or
Cariñosa.
A still-to-be-settled debate has also raged online between those who love sinigang (sour soup) and
those who love adobo as to which should be recognized as the national dish.

Images grabbed from wikimedia.org, ph.geoview.info, NCCA, Rosa Anajao on ickr, steemit.com

Source: ncca.gov.ph, nhcp.gov.ph, news.abs-cbn.com

Recent Comments

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★ 2 days ago

You thank you help thank help help thank youuuu you helpful very!!!!!!!
Anonymous 2 days ago

it helps me to do the report much easier

★★★★★ 6 days ago

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★★★★★ 2 weeks ago

cool
Anonymous 3 weeks ago

Thank you for this, I really need this for my assignment ^^

★★★★★ 3 months ago

hi
★★★★ 5 months ago
This article thought me a lot about our national symbols, but pambansang kasuotan was not
mentioned..
★★★★★ 8 months ago

This website is perfect and trust full i really like it im using it for my presentation 😀
★★★★★ 9 months ago

Thank you for this,without this i will never make my project.

★★★★★ 10 months ago

Thank you
★★★★★ 10 months ago

Where’s the Nat’l costume?

★★★★ 11 months ago

I thought the national ower is waling waling

Anonymous one year ago

Also – do we include our national food? Rice?

Anonymous one year ago

Thanks for writing this up – I agree it has taught me and my son a lot about our culture! It’s been

🙂
great! Yes, we need to include our national language, traditional costume and we need to decide on a
National dance (I learnt the Tinikling and we love adobo and sinigang xxoo. From an architectural
point of view – the bahay kubo needs to get on the list!
★★★★★ one year ago

Great article need a writer my site

★★★★★ one year ago

This is great
★★★ 2 years ago

Where is the Barong Tagalog and the Filipiniana?

 Anonymous 2 years ago

there is no NATIONAL COSTUME

Anonymous 2 years ago

I like it it helps so much to my ass.

★★★★ 2 years ago

T7C8
Anonymous 2 years ago

just wondering why kasuotan is not mention

★★★★ 2 years ago

I loved this article,I learned so much bout my culture!

★★★★★ 2 years ago

perfect
Anonymous 2 years ago

Greatttttt!!!!!!
★★★★★ 2 years ago

Bravo!
★★★★★ 2 years ago

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